Shiawassee Wildlife Refuge asks for public input on new restoration project

The Shiawassee Wildlife Refuge recently acquired 135 acres of new land. It comes from the defunct Germania Town and Country Club in Saginaw.

The refuge has scheduled a public meeting for March 15th in order to determine what to do with the land.

Lionel Grant is Visitor Services Manager at the refuge. He said the restoration effort is going to need more than just comments from residents.

“Every dollar counts, and every bit of help we can get will really go a long way. In order for this to really be a community buy in event, we’re going to lookin for the community to come and invest. I’m not saying that to solicit some money, what I mean is that it could be in-kind donations, as in sweat equity. That’s the kind of thing we’re gonna be looking for.”

Grant said it’s important the land be used however the public deems best.

“No matter what we do we want to make sure it’s a win for people, but also a win for wildlife. So what we would do is try to see how can we focus on developing these areas to make them more accessible for folks in wheelchairs, or folks that love using the paths so they can use their bikes, or folks who like to fish. We wanna figure how can we make this area of it’s best use so we can get those types of opportunities and experiences to the people.”there are four restoration plans for the public to consider.”

There are four action plans the public could choose from.

One plan would prioritize wildlife, another, public recreation.

A third would leave the area to it’s own devices.

The final plan would postpone restoration until a more comprehensive survey of public needs could be conducted.

The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15th at 7pm at the Greenpoint Learning Center in Saginaw.